Clinical trial · Interventional
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Assisted Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer
Reducing Cardiac Radiation Dose in Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Assisted Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer: a Prospective Non-Randomized Clinical Trial
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
This study is a prospective, non-randomized clinical study aimed at investigating the potential benefits of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) support during radiotherapy for breast cancer. CPAP is a device commonly used to support breathing, for example in patients with sleep apnea. The investigators expect a reduction in radiation doses to the heart and/or lungs with CPAP-supported radiotherapy compared to standard radiotherapy (without CPAP), which may also lead to a decrease in radiation-induced heart and/or lung conditions in the long term. The study will also examine how the use of a CPAP device can be implemented in daily radiotherapy practice.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breast Cancer Early Stage Breast Cancer (Stage 1-3) | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) | Device | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- CPAP-addition
- description
- CPAP is added to standard of care
- interventionNames
- Device: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Standard of care
- description
- Right sided or 70 years or older: Free Breathing Left sided and younger than 70 years old: Deep Inspiration Breath Hold
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Mean heart dose
- timeFrame
- From enrollment to the end of treatment at +/-8 weeks
- description
- Potential change of mean radiation dose to the heart
Secondary outcomes (8)
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- Female
- Minimum age
- 40 Years
- Maximum age
- 80 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Voluntary written informed consent of the participant or their legally authorized representative has been obtained prior to any screening procedures 2. At least 40 years of age and 80 years or younger at the time of signing the Informed Consent Form (ICF) 3. Female patients 4. Patients that underwent breast conserving surgery (BCS) 5. Left-sided invasive BC / in situ carcinoma with indication for adjuvant RT (\<70 years old) 6. Left-sided invasive BC with indication for adjuvant locoregional RT (including RT of the regional lymph nodes) (70-80 years old) 7. Right-sided invasive BC with indication for adjuvant locoregional RT (including RT of the regional lymph nodes) 8. Prior chemotherapy allowed 9. Prior immunotherapy allowed 10. Prior / concomitant hormonal therapy allowed 11. Prior / concomitant HER2-targeted therapy allowed Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patient has active bullous lung disease, bypassed upper airway, pneumothorax, cerebral spinal fluid leaks, abnormalities of the cribriform plate (contra-indications for the use of CPAP) 2. Patient has history of major head trauma and/or pneumocephalus (contra-indications for the use of CPAP) 3. Any disorder, which in the investigator's opinion might jeopardise participant's safety or compliance with the CIP. 4. Female who is pregnant, breast-feeding or intends to become pregnant (which is a contra-indication for RT in general) 5. Male BC patients 6. Patients that underwent mastectomy Patients whose initial tumor was located just beneath the skin (defined as being less than 28mm below the breast surface), indicating the need for an electron boost 7. Patients requiring RT boost on positive lymph nodes 8. Distant metastasis 9. Breast implants in situ 10. Right-sided in situ carcinoma 11. Right-sided invasive BC only requiring local adjuvant RT (without irradiation of the regional lymph nodes, because the presumed benefit on cardiac doses of local right-sided breast irradiation is assumed to be rather small because of the left anatomical position of the heart) 12. Bilateral BC 13. Concomitant use of chemotherapy during RT 14. Substantial comorbidities, incompatible with RT or CPAP use, estimated by the treating radiation oncologist 15. Insufficient arm mobility to perform comfortable arm positioning in radiation treatment position, evaluated by the treating radiation oncologist 16. Other active oncological disease / treatment with the exception of non-melanoma skin cancer 17. Previous RT with overlapping RT fields with actual target volume
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDVan der Vorst A, Verhoeven J, Baten A, Janssen H, Van Bavel L, Delombaerde L, Reynders T, Cooreman M, Laenen A, Lambrecht M, Van AL, Weltens C. Continuous positive airway pressure in breast cancer radiotherapy: Protocol of a prospective clinical trial. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol. 2026 Jun 3;59:101209. doi: 10.1016/j.ctro.2026.101209. eCollection 2026 Jul. PMID 42305413